Justin Bieber caught speeding 'like a maniac'

Teen heartthrob singer Justin Bieber was pulled over and cited for speeding "like a maniac" to shake off paparazzi Friday near Los Angeles, AFP reports citing police and a lawmaker who witnessed the incident.

A California Highway Patrol (CHP) spokesman said officers saw two vehicles speeding on the 101 freeway northwest near Coldwater Canyon northwest of Los Angeles, where the Canadian crooner lives.

"Officers made an enforcement stop on one of the vehicles, took him off the freeway," CHP spokesman Vince Ramirez told AFP, adding that the driver "was identified as Justin Bieber."

"He was issued a citation for speeding," he added, saying he had no further details.

The 18-year-old was driving his eye-catching mirror chrome Fisker Karma, according to the celebrity news website TMZ.

LA City Councilman Dennis Zine, who witnessed the incident, told TMZ that Bieber was driving at over 100 miles per hour (160 kph).

"Bieber was driving like a maniac. He was weaving in and out of traffic. There was hardly any space between cars as he weaved from lane to lane," he said.

Zine, who was an LAPD motor officer for 18 years, added: "If I was on patrol, I would have arrested him for reckless driving. I was going 60 and he drove by me like he was in a rocket ship. He was a maniac."

He added that paparazzi behaved irresponsibly, driving on the freeway shoulder. At least four lensmen swarmed around Bieber's car once it was pulled over, he added.

A spokesman for the Canadian singer declined to comment.

Last August, Bieber was involved in a minor car crash in his black Ferrari, in an underground parking lot, in which a Honda Civic "tapped" his car from behind. He was not cited over that incident.